After he had come back to the sensible
world from the excursions he had undertaken, he became weary of the concerns of
this life and he strongly yearned for the ultimate life. He sought to return to
that station through the same means by which he had sought it at first, till he
was able to attain it with less effort than before and also to stay there
longer than he had stayed before. Then he returned to the sensible world, and
attempted later to attain his station once more and attained it with less
effort than in both the first and the second preceding attempts, and his stay
there was longer too. And so it grew easier and easier for him to attain that
noble station and to continue in it longer and longer until he could attain it
whenever he pleased and stay in it for as long as he pleased. He used to keep
himself in that station and not turn away from it except when the necessities
of his body, which he had cut down to the bare minimum, demanded it. (1) In all
this, he used to wish that it would please God, the Mighty and Majestic, to
deliver him altogether from his body, which caused his separation from that
station, so as to give himself up perpetually to his (supreme) pleasure and so
as to be relieved from the pain he suffered every time he had to retire from
his station to attend to the necessities of the body.
(2) He continued in this state of affairs until he was
past the seventh septenary of his birth, that is, he was fifty years old. Then
he happened to come together with Asal; the story of what took place between them will be narrated–
God willing– in what follows.
It is told that on an island close to
the one on which Hayy the son of Yaqzan was born– according to one of the two
different accounts of the circumstances of his birth– there arrived one of the
true religions received from one of the old prophets– upon whom be the
blessings of God. It was a religion that imitated all the true beings through
parables that present images of those things and establish their descriptions
in the souls, as is customary in addressing the multitude. This religion
continued to spread on the island and kept growing and gaining in power until
the king adopted it himself and made the people embrace it.
(3)Now there
had grown in that island two young men of virtue and good will, called
respectively Asal and Salaman, who embraced that religion and
accepted it eagerly. They took it upon themselves to observe all its Laws and
to follow regularly its practices; this formed the basis of their friendship.
Sometimes they used to study the wording of that religious Law concerning the
attributes of God, the Mighty and Majestic, and His angels, and also the
character of resurrection, rewards, and punishments.
(4) Of
the two, Asal delved deeper into the esoteric meaning; he was more apt to find
spiritual notions, and was a more ambitious interpreter. As for Salaman, he was
more apt to keep to the apparent meaning, to avoid interpretation, and to
abstain from examination and reflection. However, both assiduously performed
the external practices (of the religious Law), disciplined themselves, and
controlled their passions.
(5) Now there were in this religious Law certain arguments
that favored seclusion and solitude, indicating that these led to salvation and
(ultimate) success; and there were other arguments that favored sociability and adherence to the whole body of the community
(Jama'ah).
(6)Asal devoted himself to the search for seclusion and
favored the argument for it, because he was naturally inclined to continued
meditation, to heeding the warnings (of the religious Law), and to penetrating
deeply into the meanings (of the things mentioned in it); and it was through
solitude that he most frequently accomplished these objectives.
(7) Salaman, on the other hand, devoted himself to
adhering to the whole body of
the community and favored the argument for this position, because he was
naturally timid as regards thought and examination. Following the majority, he thought, would lead to the suppression of evil
thoughts and the removal of the promptings of the devil. Their
differences on this issue caused them to separate.
Asal had heard about the island on
which it was said that Hayy the son of Yaqzan was formed. He knew also of its
fertility, conveniences, and temperate climate, and that the one who seeks
solitude can achieve it there. Resolved to move there and to retire from the
company of men for the rest of his life, he gathered together what money he
possessed; with a part of it he hired a ship to carry him to that island, and
the rest he distributed among the poor. He bade farewell to his friend
(Salaman) and went aboard.
The mariners transported him to the
island, set him ashore, and withdrew. Asal remained there worshipping God, the
Mighty and Majestic, magnifying Him, sanctifying Him, and meditating upon His
most beautiful names and exalted attributes without any interruption in the
presence of his mind or disturbance in his thoughts. Whenever he felt the need
for food, he took from the fruits or game of the island enough to satisfy his
hunger. He remained in this state a while, enjoying the most complete felicity
and the greatest delight through an intimate intercourse with his Lord,
experiencing every day His kindness, the excellence of His gifts, and the ease
with which He enabled him to satisfy his necessary needs and nourishment– all
of which confirmed his belief in Him and consoled Asal's heart.
In the meantime, Hayy the son of
Yaqzan was wholly immersed in his sublime stations. He never left his cave but
once a week to take whatever nourishment was at hand. This is the reason why
Asal did not discover his presence at first; he used to walk around the island
and go over all its parts without seeing a human being or observing the traces
of any footsteps. This swelled his joy and gladdened his heart as he was firmly
resolved to lead the most retired and solitary life that was possible, until
Hayy the son of Yaqzan happened to go out one day to seek his provisions at a
place where Asal happened to be.
They both spied one another. Asal did
not entertain any doubt but that Hayy was a retired worshiper who must have
come to that island in search of solitude as he himself had done, and feared
that should he come up and make his acquaintance, this might disturb Hayy's
state and disrupt the pursuit he was engaged in. Hayy the son of Yaqzan, on the
other hand, did not know what Asal was; for of all the animals he had seen, he
had never seen anything with such a form.
Now Asal had on a black coat made out
of hair and wool, which Hayy the son of Yaqzan thought was a natural part of
him and at which he stood wondering for quite a while. Asal turned and fled
from fear that he might distract Hayy. But Hayy the son of Yaqzan ran after him
out of his natural curiosity to look for the truth of things. When he saw that
Asal began to run faster, he slowed down and hid himself from him, so that Asal
thought he had left him and gone off far from the place where he was.
Asal then proceeded with his prayer,
recitation, invocation, supplication, and lamentation, until this made him
forget everything else. Then Hayy the son of Yaqzan started to draw closer and
closer, with Asal unaware of his presence, until he came so close as to hear
his recitation and praise (of God), observing in him a sense of humility and
that he was weeping. Hayy heard a pleasant voice and harmonious sounds such as
he had never heard before in any kind of animal.
Then he considered Asal's shape and
lineaments and saw that he was of the same form as himself. He also found that
the coat he had on was not a natural skin but an artificial attire like his
own. Upon watching the sincere humility of Asal, his supplication and weeping,
he did not doubt but that he was one of those essences who know the True One.
He felt himself seized by an affection toward him and a desire to know what was
the matter with him, and what caused his weeping. He drew closer to him till
Asal felt his presence and took to flight.
Hayy the son of Yaqzan chased him
energetically until he caught up with him– as the result of the vigor and the
capacity, intellectual as well as physical, that God had bestowed upon him–
seized him, held him fast, and would not let go of him. When Asal looked at him
and saw that he was clothed with animal furs, his hair grown so long as to
cover a great part of his body, and perceived his alertness and great strength,
he trembled from fear and began to implore and entreat him with words that Hayy
the son of Yaqzan could not understand and did not know what they were meant to
convey. He could, however, see the signs of alarm on Asal's face; whereupon he
endeavored to allay his fear with such voices as he had learned from some of his
animals. He stroked his head and both sides of his neck, and caressed him,
showing him a great joy and gladness, until Asal's agitation calmed and he
understood that he meant him no harm.
Asal had formerly studied most
languages as a result of his love for the science of interpretation and had
become an expert in them. So he began to speak to Hayy the son of Yaqzan in
every language he knew, asking him about himself and trying to make himself
understood, but without success.
Hayy the son of Yaqzan wondered all
the while at what he heard, not knowing what it was. Nevertheless, he showed
gladness and good disposition; and they mutually wondered at each other. Asal
had conserved some of the provisions he had brought along from the inhabited
island. He offered it to Hayy the son of Yaqzan, who, having never seen such
food before, did not know what it was. Asal ate a little of it and signaled
Hayy to eat too.
Hayy the son of Yaqzan remembered the dietary
obligation he had resolved to abide by. Not knowing the constitution of the
food he had been offered, nor whether or not he should permit himself to
partake of it, he declined to eat. Asal, nonetheless, kept asking him and
urging him beseechingly. As Hayy the son of Yaqzan had become fond of Asal and
was afraid lest he might be vexed if he should continue to refuse, he went
ahead and ate some of the food.
As soon as he had tasted it and liked
it, Hayy realized that he had done wrong by violating the covenant he made with
himself as regards diet. He repented what he did and wanted to separate from
Asal and go back to his former condition, seeking to return to his sublime
station. But he could not attain the vision quickly.
Thereupon he decided to stay with Asal
in the sensible world until he discovered what he really was and until he felt
no more desire to be with him, after which he might apply himself to his
station without any interruption. Thus he remained in the company of Asal. Now
as Asal perceived Hayy's inability to speak, he felt secure since no harm could
threaten his faith from his company. He hoped to instruct him in speaking, in
science, and in the faith, so that he (Asal) might obtain a great reward and be
favored by God.
Asal began to teach him how to speak,
first, by pointing at particular beings and pronouncing their names, repeating
them several times, and then making Hayy pronounce them. Hayy pronounced them
at the same time as he in turn pointed to each being, until Asal taught him all
the names. He helped him to improve gradually, until, in a very short time,
Hayy could speak.
Then Asal began to ask him about his
condition, and whence he came to that island. Hayy the son of Yaqzan told him
he knew nothing of his origin, nor of a father or a mother beyond the gazelle
that reared him. Then Hayy described his experiences from beginning to end, and
how he ascended in knowledge until he attained a degree of union (with God).
Asal heard him describe those truths and the essences separate from the
sensible world, which know the essence of the Truth, the Mighty and Majestic.
Then Hayy described the essence of the Truth, the Exalted and Majestic, with
His beautiful qualities. And finally Hayy described, as far as he could, what
he beheld when he attained union (with
God), the joys of those who
unite (with God), and the pains of those who are veiled from Him.
(8) After hearing all
this, Asal had no doubt that all the things given in his own religious Law
concerning God, the Mighty and Majestic, His angels, His books, His messengers,
the last day, and His paradise and hell, are the similitudes of these things
that Hayy the son of Yaqzan had beheld.
The eye of his heart was thereby
opened, the fire of his mind kindled. (9) He
found that reason and tradition agree, and he found a better access
to the ways of interpretation.
There remained not one difficulty in
the religious Law that he did not now see clearly, nor anything locked up that
was not opened, nor anything obscure that did not become plain. Thereupon he
passed into the ranks of the men of
understanding (xii, .111). From that moment, (10)
Asal looked upon Hayy the son of Yaqzan with veneration and respect, and he was
convinced that Hayy was one of the saints of God who need have no fear; neither shall they suffer (ii, 38, 262, 274). He
took it upon himself to wait upon him, to follow in his steps, and to accept
his directions in regard to the fulfilment of the religious‑legal practices
that his religion had taught him, but <that> had seemed to be
contradictory.
Hayy the son of Yaqzan, in his turn,
began to inquire from him about himself and his present condition. Whereupon
Asal proceeded to describe the island from which he came, the people who
inhabit it, and their way of life before and after religion reached them. He
described to him all the content of the religious Law concerning the divine
world, paradise, hell, the quickening of the dead, the resurrection, the
assembly for a final judgment, the balance, and the bridge. (11) Hayy the son of Yaqzan understood all this, not
finding in it anything that disagreed with what he had intuitively seen in his
sublime station. He recognized that the one who described these things and
brought them forth was truthful in his description, veridical in his words, and
a messenger from his Lord. He believed in him, accepted his truthfulness, and
bore witness to his mission.
(12) Then he began to
find out from Asal what were the acts of worship that he (the messenger)
ordained as duties. Asal described prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, and
similar external practices. Hayy accepted them, and he took it upon himself to
carry them out in compliance with the command of whose author's veracity he had
become convinced.
(13) There only remained
two points that kept him wondering and whose wisdom he could not understand.
One point was why this messenger, in
the greater part of his description of the divine world, used parables? (14) Why he avoided the clear disclosure (of the truth)
and thus led men to fall into the great error of attributing corporeality to
Him and believe certain things about the essence of the Truth from which He is
completely exempt? And why he did the same concerning rewards and punishments?
The other point was (15) why he confined himself to those duties and acts of
worship and permitted acquisition of wealth and excessive consumption of food
so that people gave themselves up to vain occupations and turned away from the
Truth.
Hayy's own opinion was that nobody
ought to eat anything more than necessary to keep body and soul together. As
for riches, they meant nothing to him. He saw no point to the rules of the
religious Law in regard to wealth, such as alms‑giving in its various forms,
trading, and usury, and in regard to penalties and punishments. All this he
found strange and considered it superfluous. He said that if people understood
the truth of the matter they would avoid these vanities, turn toward the Truth,
and dispense with all this. Nobody will then own private property for which
alms would have to be paid, hands cut off for stealing it, or people die for
robbing it.
(16) What misled Hayy
was his belief that all men were endowed with excellent natures, clear‑sighted
sagacity, and resolute souls. He was not aware how stupid, deficient, ill‑opinioned, and weak in
resolution they were, as the cattle, nay,
they are further astray from the way (xxv, 44).
Hayy ibn Yaqzan
by
Ibn TUFAYL
(d. 1185)
Translated by George N. ATIYEH
(in Medieval Political Philosophy
eds. R.
LERNER & M. MAHDI)
Cornell University Press
Ithaca, New York 1963
C.S. 202
American University of Beirut
2002‑2003
